You know how Americans try to give each other encouragement by making a fist pump & saying 'go for it' or 'hang in there?' Well Koreans do that too!
This gesture is frequently seen in Kdramas as a means of encouraging one another; and it's often done with on or both hands. In Hangeul it's written 화이팅 or 파이팅 and is pronounced 'hwaiting' or 'paiting'.... but it sounds like fighting to our American ears. Unclear to this Gmama where the custom came from but it's easily recognizable to us without any subtitles needed!
This is RM, a member of the Kpop group BTS; not a Kdrama star.
Oh, joonchild... I hadn't picked up on that! I'm a fan of Jimin and kind of a pseudo-ARMY.
Thank you for the handsome photo of my bias Namjoon (see my user name). Are you ARMY?
I remember reading on a subreddit years ago that "hwaiting!" (fighting!, no "f" in Hangul) was a Konglish term derived from the US Army during the Korean War era, but I don't think anyone knows the origins for sure.
Look at you using your newly found Korean language skills….so proud…. 😎